Dynamic Testing

Dynamic Testing & Learning potential

Focus on cognitive potential

The Dynamic Testing Lab falls under Leiden University’s Department of Psychology, part of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. The lab falls under the Developmental and Educational Psychology Unit. Under the supervision of Prof. Wilma Resing, the lab has for a considerable time investigated the change possibilities as regards the cognitive development of 2 to 12 year old children. Dr. Harrie Boelens is also one of the lab’s permanent staff members.

Dynamic Testing is an umbrella term under which very diverse research projects into the cognitive development of children are grouped. The lab investigates in great detail the learning potential of children and the manner in which they solve tasks. By means of a short training session, the lab aims to provide insight into how these problem solving procedures – strategies – can change and be influenced. Children’s thinking development, and, linked in with this, their inductive reasoning capacity, and the manner in which these can be influenced are the core research themes.

Dynamic testing is a method that enables measuring and unfolding of the learning potential within a short time frame: measuring or testing under dynamic, interactive conditions are key. The lab has a strong focus on questions such as:

What happens exactly during an intervention;

What do children tell us about their solution of a task;

Can children change their strategic behaviour as a result of a short training session;

Are there large individual differences;

At which exact point in time will reasoning behaviour of children unfold;

Is solution solving behaviour stable or unstable;

Does strategy use of children become more advanced.

News

Highly gifted children benefit from explanation as much as their peers

We often assume that highly gifted children always perform at maximum capacity. Psychologist Bart Vogelaar discovered that this group too benefits from training and explanation. Strangely enough, the benefits are the same for both groups. Bart Vogelaars PhD defence on this topic was on 18 January 2017.

Results

Training helps children with learning to think analytically

Christine Pronk (Developmental and Educational Psychology) investigated how children learn to think analytically, and to what extent they benefit from training. According to Pronk, it is more important to investigate how individual children learn, than to measure whether or not they have achieved a certain skill. Her promotion took place on 19 February 2014.